These three volumes have collected in one place all probate records for the towns that constitute Essex County. Wills and inventories are provided in full transcription, while all other documents, including letters of administration, estate settlements and the like, appear in full or in abstract. For the period covered by these volumes, there was no separate probate court, and most of the documents included here were entered in volumes devoted to a variety of other legal matters, such as colony and county court minutes, town and county deed volumes, and even town meeting minutes. From 1643 to 1679, the towns of Salisbury, Haverhill and Amesbury were in old Norfolk County, and were incorporated into Essex County in the latter year, upon the creation of the colony of New Hampshire. Probate records for these towns, found mostly in the records of old Norfolk County, have been included here as well.

The records collected here are essential for the study of the first three generations of Essex County families.

Although designed as badge holder for conferences, this convenient pouch is really handy for trips to the library or courthouse. Our Vylon badge holder hangs around your neck with an adjustable cord and has three convenient pockets (including one zippered and one with a Velcro flap) to hold ID cards, business cards, photocopier cards, parking stub, notepad and cash. The pockets are even large enough to carry a PDA or cell phone along with other necessary items. Two extra pockets on the reverse will hold your writing utensils. Lock your purse away and carry everything that you need in this convenient little pouch. Keep your hands free when you walk through the stacks!

=== NEW: GenSmarts v2.0 ==========================

Aaron Underwood of Underwood Innovations has announced the release of GenSmarts v2.0. This very popular utility works from directly inside TMG and Family Tree SuperTools to evaluate your data and make suggestions about where and how to find relevant records to break through those brick walls. The new version sports a new user interface, more powerful and easier to use suggestion filters, new source auditing and analysis capabilities, new reports and output options, as well as several other enhancements. (The interface when run from inside TMG/FTST has not changed). A detailed change log is available from the link below.

For a very limited time, users purchased an earlier version of GenSmarts through the Wholly Genes store can get a $10.00 discount towards GenSmarts v2.0. Please visit this web site before June 12th:

This fun mouse pad shows a beach scene and the title "I'm cruisin' with Wholly Genes!" It is a great inexpensive alternative for those who can't attend our annual conference and cruise! Constructed with a sublimated fabric surface and a heavy-duty, non-skid rubber base. Measures 6 7/8" x 8 1/8" and 1/8" thick. The subtitle says "Home of The Master Genealogist (TMG) and the source for thousands of other helpful products for genealogists" and the web site.

The official Wholly Genes lapel pin reflects the company logo and name. It measures 6/16" x 1" and is manufactured using the Cloisonne process. The design is imprinted into the metal base (not just overlaid), die struck, hand polished, and plated in silver - a quality piece of jewelry!

=== New U.S. data CDs ============================

The following new searchable data CDs are now available from www.WhollyGenes.com:

Samuel Orcutt and Ambrose Beardsley, THE HISTORY OF THE OLD TOWN OF DERBY, CONNECTICUT, 1642-1880, (1880) 2007

Orcutt and Beardsley compiled a comprehensive history of the town of Derby from before its founding to the year 1880, including a lengthy section on the Indians of the region. They added to the main account a section of biographies and genealogies, as well as material on Derby's daughter towns. After an extensive introductory section on the "Indian History" of the territory that became Derby, the authors cover the history of Derby itself in chapters that are sometimes chronological and sometimes topical, with strong emphasis on the many commercial enterprises initiated in the town. All the subjects discussed are illustrated by verbatim extracts from the town, church or other official records. (more...)

Benjamin W. Dwight, THE HISTORY OF THE DESCENDANTS OF JOHN DWIGHT OF DEDHAM, MASS., 2 VOLUMES, (1874) 2007

Dwight prepared a massive, comprehensive compilation of the descendants in all lines of John Dwight of Dedham, Massachusetts, and of his brother Timothy Dwight of the nearby town of Medfield. The two volumes include information on more than eight thousand direct descendants of these two immigrants. Most of this work covers the descendants of John Dwight, since the family of Timothy Dwight daughtered out within a few generations. The author went far beyond the usual scope of genealogies published in the late nineteenth century, by tracing lines of descent through daughters as well as sons, and also by including extensive information on the families of men and women who married into the Dwight family. (more...)

Lois Kimball Mathews, THE EXPANSION OF NEW ENGLAND: THE SPREAD OF NEW ENGLAND SETTLEMENT AND INSTITUTIONS TO THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER, 1620-1865, (1909) 2007

The author narrates the chronology of the settlement of New England in the colonial period and then the migration of New Englanders and their culture to the west and south in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. The story is illustrated with many carefully drawn and informative maps. Mathews begins with the small number of settlements along the coast of New England in the 1620s, and then describes the rapid establishment of new towns resulting from the Great Migration of the 1630s. She goes on to show the further expansion of settlement as the population grew by natural means. She pays special attention to the reversals in the numbers of settlements consequent to the various conflicts with the Indians. (more...)

Based on his own research and on the publications of many other researchers, Charles Edward Banks had, by the time of his death in 1931, collected evidence or clues for the English origin of more than half of the English families which had come to New England during the years of the Great Migration. The entries for the 2885 emigrants are arranged by county, and within each county alphabetically by parish. Each entry also includes the name of the ship on which the emigrant arrived (when known), the first town of residence in New England and the reference supporting the proposed English origin. (more...)

=== PREVIEW: Second Site v2.0 =====================

We've receive this message from John Cardinal regarding his excellent web site construction tool which works with TMG and Family Tree SuperTools:

The next online chat with Wholly Genes will be on Saturday, 2 June 2007, at 2pm EDT and again at 11pm Eastern Time. Don't miss this opportunity to "talk" online with Wholly Genes representatives, as well as with other TMG users around the world.

Remember that the Wholly Genes chat room is available to you at any time. Just go to http://www.WhollyGenes.com and click on Public Chat in the Support menu. When you see the security warning, click on or . Then be patient because it could take 30 seconds or more (especially on a dial-up connection) to load the necessary chat tools. When prompted, simply enter a chat nickname and then click on Connect. That's all there is to it. We hope to see you there!